The Raven
by RickiBee10
Summary: To Rebecca Valerie Newman, Dr. Jonathan Crane is the most beautiful man she's ever met. After having a tough childhood, Rebecca jumped at the chance to work at Arkham Asylum and became Dr. Crane's secretary. She soon realises her love for Crane and is determined to make him hers. But she could never suspect Jonathan's dark secret and how it would change her life forever.
1. Late Night

"It's no good, Mr Crane, sir." Whispered Rebecca Newman shaking her head as she walked from the room in which a deranged man sat. "He's still jabbering on about some 'scarecrow'. I don't think we'll be able to treat him, sir."

Jonathan Crane's head shot up. "Still?"

"Yes, sir. I believe that he'll never recover."

"Such a shame. I thought he could've had a new chance at life at last" Jonathon lowered his head back to his notes and began scribbling once more.

"If you don't mind me saying, sir; would you like me to arrange a cell for him?" Rebecca stared down at the back of his head, admiring the light curls that were tangled around his hand.

"Yes, I think that would be best" Jonathan turned around and gave Rebecca a reassuring smile.

"Very well, sir, I will get right to it" she swept a lock of long, brown hair behind her ear and turned to the door of his office.

"Oh, Rebecca!" shouted Jonathan before she opened the door.

"Yes, Mr Crane, sir?"

"Thank you for all of your help, you're the best assistant I could ask for." He smiled to her again, but this time it wasn't of reassurance, it was a look of pure warmth and gratitude.

"Oh, sir, I must be the one to thank you for allowing me this job!" Rebecca could feel her face start to warm and she could tell that her cheeks were growing a fresh pink colour. "I, uh, I must go, Mr Crane, sir, I have some things to be doing, but thank you, I, uh.." she flushed wildly and grabbed the door handle and almost threw herself out the door.

Jonathan Crane turned back around on his swivel chair and ran his hand through his hair. He huffed loudly from exhaustion and then began scrawling more notes.

Rebecca shut the door softly and whirled round to peer through the tiny window in Jonathan's office. He had started writing down more notes again which made Rebecca sigh in relief; it meant he hadn't noticed, or didn't want to mention, that Rebecca had most definitely embarrassed herself. She felt weak at the knees and her breath had been completely taken away. It was obvious now that she had fallen in love with her boss, Jonathan Crane.

She straightened herself up and walked over to her desk which was overflowing with paper-work. She sighed, knowing it would be another long night at the office and it was already eight-o'clock in the evening, but it was worth it as she would be spending an extra few hours with Jonathan. Rebecca smiled to herself because she always called him Jonathan when she was alone, like she knew him personally, but she didn't, and he was her boss so she couldn't afford to think like that. Although, her mind did often wonder what lay behind those bright blue eyes.

Rebecca used her pager to send a note to the main offices to come and collect the crazed man to send him to his new home in Arkham Asylum.

She sat down at her desk and almost squealed when the very first folder she saw was labelled 'The Joker' in huge red letters. Rebecca's worse fear was The Joker and his followers, mainly because, when she was 16-years-old, she and her parents were in a car crash caused by The Joker and his getaway van. She composed herself and opened the folder to see a still, make-up covered face laughing up at her, in chains and shackles. Rebecca grabbed all of her hair and used the hair tie on her wrist to tie her hair in a high pony-tail, then grabbed a pair of simple, rectangle shaped, black-rimmed glasses and started her work; reading and sorting, writing and filing.

Around 10 minutes later, two men with large muscles walked into the room where the strange man had been contained, then they came out again but this time carrying a plump figure with a sack over his head and his hands and feet tied with thick rope.

"The scarecrow! You've got to help... He'll get me... You're not safe... He will... Kill... Die... Burn... Everyone is in danger..." Rebecca grimaced to hear the pained muffled voice from beneath the sack. She hoped that Jonathan would be able to cure him, for her sake if not anyone else's.

Rebecca stood up and walked over to Jonathan's office door and opened it a few centimeters to peek her head round.

"Er, Mr Crane, sir? The Mr Smith has been taken to his cell now, just thought I'd let you know" she stood there in silence waiting for his acknowledgement. "Sir?" she slowly stepped over to his desk but jumped when his head suddenly dropped onto his desk. His loud snoring gave relief to Rebecca to know he was just asleep. She quietly shuffled over to him and stared down at his peaceful face. She knelt down next to him and leant her arms on his desk. Before she could stop herself, Rebecca lifted up her hand and brushed a piece of hair from Jonathon's face and started to carefully stroke his cheek. He must have enjoyed her soft touch in his sleep because his breath started to slow and even out and his mouth opened slightly so he was drooling on his desk. Rebecca had to stifle a laugh as he was mumbling sweet nothings about his work life.

"Damn asylum... Batman's help... Rebecca..."

Rebecca snapped up at the sound of her name. She was listening intently to his small murmurs now, trying to get an idea of what he was dreaming about. She started rubbing his cheek again, ever so softly, urging him to say more.

"I'm, here Jonathan, what's wrong?" she whispered, trying to get more clues from his mutters. "Jonathan, it's Rebecca, I'm here."

"Reb...ecc...a..." he mumbled again.

"Yes, I'm here, Jonathan" her whispers were louder this time, wanting to learn more of his mind.

"I..."

**_RING RING! RING RING!_**

Rebecca jumped up, dropping a pot of pens on the floor and Jonathan woke with a start shaking his head trying to remember where he is.

Jonathan snatched up the receiver on his phone, "Dr Jonathan Crane speaking. Yes... Yeah... Oh, no-no... Hm I see... Okay... Right... Okay, thanks for the call." he placed the receiver back down and looked down at Rebecca. She was bending over, picking up the pot of pens she had knocked over.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir! I was just about to, er, wake you, sir! Please forgive me, Mr Crane, sir! I am so very sorry, sir..." Jonathan let Rebecca's panicked voice trail away as he watched her pick up all the pens, her bottom sticking out just enough to see her firm backside beneath her plain black pencil skirt. Her black tights were starting to ladder behind her thighs and she was wearing black high heels, at least 2 inches high. Her plain white blouse had become untucked from the back of her skirt and was now falling out of the front and sides of her skirt.

To Jonathan's disappointment, Rebecca stood up quite quickly and placed the pot of pens on his desk.

"... I really didn't mean to knock this off, I'm so clumsy! Please don't be upset, sir! I'll make it up to you, I promise, sir!" Jonathan had suddenly come back to reality.

"Rebecca, calm down, it's only a pot of pens." He said, calmly, hiding a chuckle with a fake cough.

"Right, yes, well, I should really be getting back to work, sir. I'll leave you to, uh, what you are doing, uh, good-bye, sir." She tightened her pony-tail and sped to the door until Jonathan's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Actually, Rebecca, I was hoping you would join me for coffee, since we will both probably be here a while."

"Coffee, sir?" she stammered.

"Yes, you know, coffee. People can have it with milk, or black, and maybe even sugar too!" He sniggered at her puzzled look.

"Oh, yes, uh, okay, sir. I'd love to go and have coffee... with you. Yes, that would be nice." The corners of Rebecca's lips curved slightly when she looked up and saw him shining that devilish smile at her.

"Excellent, I'll just organize my notes and we'll go" Jonathan swiveled on his chair and began shuffling his notes into loose piles and clipping them with green and purple paper clips.

Rebecca smiled to herself, knowing that purple was her favourite colour and she had always hoped that these paper clips were somehow for her benefit. "Yes, I think I'll do the same, sir" she called before gliding over to her desk.

Snatching a compact mirror from her top desk drawer, Rebecca leaned it against some folders and began tidying up her hair and wrapped it into a bun but leaving a few stray hairs to fall which delicately framed her face. She quickly added more mascara and put on some lip gloss with a slight purple hint to it; it was her favourite one and only used it for special occasions, this moment being one of them, she thought.

She barely had time to stuff her make-up back into her drawer when Jonathan opened his office door and stepped out, looking more handsome than ever. He must have used his hand to comb his hair back because it was pushed back, revealing his face and, more importantly, his curious blue eyes. He had pulled down his tie slightly so he could undo the top button of his crisp white shirt, showing the very top of his collarbone, and he was just pulling his blazer over his shoulders. He pushed his small rectangle glasses up his nose and then smiled at Rebecca.

"Ready?" He beamed and holding out his arm, jokingly.

"Ready," Rebecca replied and took his arm as jokingly as she could but her heart was beginning to quicken.


	2. The Coffee Shop

They had only been walking for a few minutes but they had already arrived at a small coffee shop. Jonathan let go of Rebecca's arm and held the door open for her.

"Ladies, first!" He murmured with a smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth.

"Why, thank you, Mr Crane" Rebecca breathed, wanting him to hold her arm again, or hold her around the waist, or hug her and... No. She had to stop thinking like this. Jonathan was her boss and nothing more. She shook herself out of her thoughts and they drifted away as fast as they had come.

"It's no trouble, Rebecca." He flashed that devilish smile that she knew oh too well. "And please call me Jonathan. We're outside of work, we're not here on business, so you should be allowed to call me by my first name, as I do you."

"Well, okay, that makes sense I guess Mr Cra- I mean, Jonathan." Rebecca felt like a schoolgirl with a really silly crush on a teacher and she could feel her cheeks flush more and more the closer she was to him.

She walked through the door into a large, brightly lit room filled with 80's styled booths around the edges and small metal tables with 2-4 chairs around them, varying from one to the other in the middle of the room. There was a long salad bar-style counter filled with various cakes, biscuits and crisps.

Rebecca was too busy admiring the beautiful little coffee shop she could never expect what would happen next.

Jonathan walked up behind her and rested his hand on the small of her back and whispered in her ear "Why don't you grab a table? I'll get us a drink" and he sauntered off to the counter where a plump waitress stood listening to her mp3 player.

Rebecca, however, stood dead. His faint touch on her back had sent all of her senses into overdrive and she felt like exploding into hyperventilation. His warm breath had sifted into her ears and she had heard the sharpness to his quiet request. Their heads had been centimeters apart. Rebecca felt the room start to spin so she grabbed the nearest table and collapsed into the booth in the fear that she might pass out due to the sudden dizziness.

Once her mind had settled down and her senses had calmed themselves, she looked over to Jonathan to see if he was having the same effects as she was. He wasn't, judging by his stance, but he was still perfection in an imperfect world, Rebecca thought. He had his left hand on the counter and his right hand was in his back pocket, lifting his blazer, making it very easy to see that his trousers had slipped a few centimeters from his waist. Several millimeters of a black cotton could be seen peering out from his trousers. Rebecca knew she had seen those boxer shorts in a store once before but had no interest in them what-so-ever, until she had seen them on Jonathan Crane.

Unintentionally, Rebecca let her mind wander for a moment; thinking about what the boxer shorts would actually look like on Jonathan, with no trousers on.

It was Jonathan that shook her back into reality when he was walking over and placed a cup down in front of Rebecca.

"Oh, thank you, Mr C- uh, sorry, I mean, Jonathan." She cupped her hands around the drink and pulled it closer to her, warmth bleeding through her hands and coursing through her body.

"It's not a problem. I mean, why would we go to a coffee shop if I didn't buy you a coffee, right?" He sat across from her and stared at her face, though she was looking down and hadn't realised.

"Mm" she agreed and took a small sip from her coffee. The hot liquid ran down her throat quickly and she was suddenly very warm and very alert. The coffee was a perfect taste; three sugars and plenty of milk. "This tastes really nice, Jonathan. Thank you" she looked up and realised he had been studying her face for the few minutes while she had stared into her coffee.

Jonathan locked her eyes on his and held her gaze while he swam through her sapphire blue eyes, searching for what- he didn't know.

Rebecca could never think of a more perfect moment to look into his blue - almost white - eyes. They were perfectly glazed and his pupils were growing and shrinking every time he blinked. Before they knew it, their faces were mere inches away from each other; they had been unknowingly leaning in to each other the whole time. Rebecca dropped his gaze and they both leaned back in their chairs, leaving Rebecca feeling rather disappointed, though she didn't know why.

"It's, uh, a lovely night" Jonathan exclaimed, looking out of the window examining the sky. It was a deep purple colour - just after sunset - and decorated with tiny diamonds scattered around randomly.

"Yes, it is." Rebecca replied staring out of the window too. "I love this time of night, just after sunset. Not quite day, not quite night, so it just leaves a wonderful purple colour but it's still dark enough to see the stars shine. Purple's my favourite colour, you know."

Jonathan peeked round at Rebecca to make sure she wasn't watching him.

"Yes I got the idea since you wore that purple dress to the company staff ball a few months ago" He was still studying her; trying to figure her out.

"You remember my dress?" She coughed, her sudden intake of breath had resulted in her not managing to breathe at all.

"Well, yes, I suppose I do."

"Oh" was she could manage to say. Her mouth had become extremely dry and she was worried that if she opened her mouth she might scream out how utterly brilliant he was being, just by sitting there in her very presence.

They sat in silence, both staring out of the window, for what seemed like forever until Jonathan cleared his throat; Rebecca assumed he wanted to start a conversation.

"Rebecca, you know much about me and the work I do at Arkham, yet I don't know much about you. What's your story?" He sat up in his seat, obviously interested in what Rebecca had to say, which she found surprising as no-one ever asked her about her life.

"Well, uh, okay. Hm, where shall I start?" She felt more relaxed than usual.

"I don't know. Start from, let's say, the beginning" he smiled at her with the same precision that makes Rebecca's stomach flutter.

"Oh, okay." She leaned back in her chair, patted her chin with her index finger and thought for a minute. "Hm, let's see.." she took an intake of breath "I had a pretty boring childhood. I was an only child, you see, and I had no play mates at home. My mother and father tried their best but they were earning little money between the two of them so we had to rent a small apartment in a rough neighborhood We had to move around a lot so I never really settled down in a school. Probably a good thing, too! I was always a bit of a loner, really, and I never made friends. I got a bullied a lot, too, because I wear glasses." She glanced up at Jonathan realising that he also wore glasses. "Uh, sorry."

"It's fine, I had the same problem when I was younger too." He chuckled quietly and waved his hand to her, urging her to carry on.

"Yes, well, anyway, although I changed schools a lot, my parents and teachers always said I was quite brainy. Especially Science, that was my favourite subject. I just love learning about how things work, how the world was created and the experiments we did in chemistry were amazing! I love learning about chemicals and how they help or harm the environment. It's really quite fascinating.

"Anyway, none of that really mattered since I left school at 15. My parents were practically begging people for money so I had to leave school and help them earn. I had small jobs working in a check-out and a janitor for nearby hotels - Let's just say I was exhausted!"

"Wait, you did all these jobs at the same time?" Jonathan raised both eyebrows in disbelief.

"Well, yes. Check-out was every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The other days I cleaned hotels, but I was lucky 'cause I only had to do half a day on Sundays." Rebecca sat up and puffed out her chest as if she was extremely privileged to have this award.

"So, you only had one half a day free time a week when you were 15?" Jonathan furrowed his brow, clearly confused why she was so proud of this.

"Yes, but it was all to help my family. We were using my extra income to save for a car and driving lessons, you see. It took us a year to get everything in order but we made it in the end! Oh, you should have seen the look of joy on my mother and father's face when we bought it." Her mouth curved into a gentle smile as she reminisced happy memories. "We were so excited! We couldn't wait to drive back home, even though we only lived minutes away. I remember that we beeped to the salesman as we drove onto the road, mum was already moaning that dad had the radio on too loud, but I didn't mind. I was sitting in the back, looking at both of them. They were holding hands and I knew, I just knew, that things were going to get better from that moment. It really felt like we were finally moving up." Rebecca started to recall the _whole_ car drive. She remembered that it wasn't all sunshine and daisies. That was the day the crash happened. She stared passed Jonathan, her smile fading away as all the horrific details flooded back to her.

"Rebecca? Are you okay?" Jonathan's voice was calm but his face seemed panicked.

"Oh my god." She started trembling. She remembered the murderous laughter. The flames. The explosion. All of the city crying for help.

"Rebecca, what's wrong?" Jonathan could no longer hide the worry from his voice. He reached out and grabbed her hand, grasping it firmly to drag her back from her memories.

Rebecca's eyes flickered over back to Jonathan. She held his gaze through tear-filled eyes. Her voice had become croaky.

"Dad decided to take us the long way home. He thought it would be a good idea to have a longer ride in the car. We all agreed, I even rolled down the window to feel like a movie star when we were going really fast.

"We got to the turning into our street but I remembered we didn't have any soda at home. I begged my parents to quickly pop to the store to get some. My mum nagged about saving money but they both gave in; I was a very spoiled child and I knew how to bend them around my little finger. Dad did a U-turn and he was excited that it was his first U-turn in his first own car. We all laughed at him - he was always easily amused. We carried on driving down the long road and my mum kept messing with the radio to find a station that we could all listen to.

"We, er-" She sniffed and looked down. She didn't want to look at him. "We were just about to turn the corner into the town center - Dad insisted to go into town to show off our new mode of transport - and, er... Well there was a robbery at the local bank and it was the same bank on that corner. Some kind of get away van crashed through the wall and into the street. The driver lost control and the van flipped over, crashing into a nearby lorry. Dad couldn't stop in time. We went straight into the lorry and the tankard on the back came loose and gas leaked everywhere. I could hear the panicked voices from my dad at the front, shouting mine and my mum's name, trying to see if me and my mum were okay. I saw someone climb out of the flipped van. A man. He was wearing a purple coat and a green suit. I remember he looked at the wreckage and spotted our car. He ran over and laughed through the half-open window. I remember his laugh. It haunts me, even now. He stared out at the growing puddle of gas on the floor, the smile still burning in his face, and he reached into his pocket. All it took was one match." Rebecca couldn't control her tears now, they fell freely down her cheek and onto the table.

"Everything burned. I could hear passers-by scream in agony. I tried to get out but the car was crushed and all the doors were jammed. Then the tankard from the lorry got too hot. It exploded and threw bits of metal everywhere. One big shard flew towards our car and... It hit the windshield.

"When we got to the hospital, doctors said my mum was dead before the explosion happened. Said she must have died on impact. Me and my dad never spoke of it. Ever. That's why when I was 20, I moved to Gotham. I needed a fresh start; I needed to get away from everything.

"You know what the worst part is? That man, although I hardly doubt he's even human, comes from here. They call him 'The Joker'. And I couldn't help but think maybe he's come back to finish the job." Rebecca couldn't carry on talking. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Rebecca, listen to me. That _thing_ will not lay one finger on you." Jonathan spat out his words. "I swear I will not let him hurt you again! Rebecca! Look at me!" He placed both hands on her cheeks and lifted her head. She looked at him through drenched eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you. With Gotham Police, and our work at Arkham, we will make sure to put scum like him behind bars." He wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb and gazed at her. He wondered why she had worn so much mascara as he studied the black streaks on her face.

She smiled and grabbed his hands and held them to her face. She loved this feeling; she felt protected, like he could shield her from anything. She reached over and placed her hand on his cheek and gently rubbed his face; like she had done in his office earlier, but it was much more better when he was awake.

They watched each other in silence, Rebecca getting flustered. The heat of the moment was spreading between them like wildfire. Rebecca took a leap of faith and moved her head a few millimeters closer to Jonathan and she was extremely relieved when he did the same. Closer and closer they moved, Rebecca feeling the heat rise. She dropped both of her hands on the table and he did the same, but he held hers together, making her fingers become entwined with his. Their faces were still getting closer. Rebecca saw him look down at her mouth and back at her eyes. This was it, she thought. He stretched out one of his hands and held her chin, his eyes blazing with fear and excitement. He lifted her head to his and Rebecca closed her eyes, ready for the moment when his lips would meet hers. Closer he pulled her head towards him. Closer. Millimeters apart. Almost touching.

"_Oi_, we're closing now! You better clear off!" Boomed a voice from behind them.

The heat had gone. Jonathan dropped her chin and straightened up in his chair. Rebecca flung open her eyes and glared at the waitress, not bothering to hide her frustration.

"C'mon Rebecca, we better head back." Jonathan cleared his throat and stood up. This time he didn't offer his arm to Rebecca, which annoyed her even more.

"Yeah.." She couldn't believe how childish she was being but she couldn't help it! She and Jonathan were just about to share an intimate moment and that stupid waitress had ruined it._ Intimate_, she thought. They had just nearly shared an intimate moment. This must mean something. Maybe he has feelings for her too! Too many thoughts and ideas rushed through Rebecca's head and she leaned on the table to balance herself. Jonathan reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Rebecca, you don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Fine. I think I'm just a little exhausted." She lifted her head and gave him a weak smile.

"Hm.." Jonathan lowered his eyebrow but a look of wonder was still lingering on his face. "Maybe you should take the night off. I'll finish up for you, if you like. You look like you need a rest."

Rebecca's eyes snapped open wide, "no, it's fine! Really! I don't mind staying at work, believe me!" She didn't want to head back to a lonely apartment when she could so easily spend some more hours in the company of Jonathan. Rebecca stood up straight too quickly and lost her balance which made her conveniently fall into Jonathan's arms.

"Rebecca, I insist. I can walk you home, if you want?" He looked down to her and pierced her eyes with his.

Rebecca could feel his heart beats grow quicker under his chest and she had to pull herself away from him before she could get carried away.

"Yeah, okay. We better be off 'cause that waitress over there is beginning to tap her foot at us." They both turned to see the waitress doing exactly that and Jonathan bent his head down to hide his laughter while Rebecca covered her mouth with her hand to disguise her small giggle.

"Get out! We're closing!" The waitress pushed them both out the door and bolted it shut behind them.

"Well! She was a little rude, wasn't she?" They couldn't control their laughter anymore and they both exploded into loud chuckles.

"I suppose we'd better be off" Jonathan announced when they both stopped laughing, although there was still a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Rebecca's face fell. "Oh, yeah, course. Um, it's this way." She gestured her hand down a nearby street and walked ahead of Jonathan, half angry and half upset. She wanted to stay at Arkham to spend more time with him but it sounded like his mind was set. Maybe this was his plan all along. Maybe he was just trying to seduce Rebecca to get her out of the way. What if he didn't even like her as a friend? Rebecca's confused emotions sent hurricanes through her brain and tears into her eyes. She didn't want to cry again tonight. Then Rebecca remembered that she had put on mascara earlier and guessed her tears had smudged it all over her face. She looked to the side to use passing shop windows as a mirror and she was right. Her cheeks started to flush because Jonathan had been with her the whole time and not said a single word. She wondered if he wanted her to look stupid or he wanted her to feel embarrassed. She quickly licked her finger and tried to wipe it all off. She used another shop window to see if she'd gotten rid of it all but there was still a thick line of it right below her lash line. She rubbed her finger over it but it made her eyes appear puffy, as though she had been crying again. Rebecca didn't dare to turn around and look at him; she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of him for a third time tonight.


	3. Walking Home

A while later, Rebecca made a sharp turn into a narrow alleyway and she could now feel the cold of the night smother her down to the bone.

"Rebecca!" Jonathan exclaimed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"What?" Rebecca blinked at him, she had no idea what he was so worried about.

"So, you're just gonna go down a dark alley at night?"

"Oh" She looked back at the alley. She didn't realise it could be dangerous, after all she had been using this route for the past 8 months. "I always walk this way home. It's the fastest route."

Jonathan couldn't hide his shock. "You walk down here every night? Alone?"

"Well, yes. Who else am I going to walk with?"

"You could've told me and I could have made sure you got home safely."

"Oh, okay well I'll remember to ask you next time" She hugged her arms around her body. A huge wind had whirled along the alleyway and forced Rebecca to shudder.

"Are you cold?"

She nodded sheepishly. "I suppose next time I'll bring a jacket."

"Here" Jonathan slid out of his blazer and put it over Rebecca's shoulders.

Rebecca felt instantly warm because the blazer was huge on her. Jonathan had always looked quite muscly but she had never realised just how big he was.

"Thank you" she gave him a warm smile. "Now let's go because I need to get home, don't I?"

"Hang on" He looked around, Rebecca supposedly thought he was checking for 'danger'. She rolled her eyes but smiled at him anyway. Then he walked towards her and smiled back at her. "Okay, let's go"

Rebecca laughed at his over-protective state and started to walk but was taken by surprise when Jonathan grabbed her side and pulled her closer to him, possibly trying to protect her but Rebecca felt like she had just melted on the spot, although she was still walking.

The heat she felt in the coffee shop had flooded back to her. She could feel his high temperature on her side that was touching him and the blazer obviously made him too warm because she noticed that his hair was sticking to his forehead from sweat. It looked as though he had been for a long run. The thing that shocked her the most was that she found him in his present state to be ridiculously sexy. She wished he would look like this all the time.

They got to the end of the alleyway where Rebecca usually had to turn left but Jonathan started to head right. Rebecca took this chance to be closer to him by grabbing him round his waist and pulling him left.

"It's this way Jonathan" she giggled at his realisation but sudden terror flooded her brain as to what would she do if Jonathan acted negatively to her sudden action.

Rebecca's fear vanished as she felt Jonathan pull her closer to him in reply to her movement. She wished she didn't have this damn blazer now, she was feeling really hot but she didn't want to take it off in fear that Jonathan would let go of her.

Rebecca's pulse was growing and rising whilst they walked down the road. She wished the heat would go away but every time she could feel herself cool down Jonathan would slightly press his fingers into her side and pull her closer to his sweltering body. Her breath started to hitch and she felt her desire for him grow stronger. She knew that if she didn't get away from him soon she'd no longer be able to control herself. Rebecca glanced up at him and the cold had started to affect to him now because his hair was no longer glued to his forehead and his lips were dry. Of course, the human instinct when you have dry lips is to wet them so Jonathan poked out his pink tongue and licked his lips. This made Rebecca's stomach turn to jelly. Her legs wobbled and the intense desire in her chest was billowing throughout her body with pain but yet she still craved him. She wanted him against her, to feel his hard lips crush her soft ones, she wanted to run her fingers through his hair while he put his flat palms on her bottom. Rebecca looked to her left to look away from him and stared at the brick wall passing by her. She thought that all she could do is push Jonathan against the wall and then he'd be all hers.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about Jonathan in that way anymore.

Jonathan looked down and frowned at her "Rebecca, what's up?"

"What? Oh, nothing, I was just... Nevermind"

"You look hot. Maybe you should take off the blazer" The one corner of his mouth slid into a half-smile which made Rebecca's heart flutter.

Rebecca just stared straight ahead. Had Jonathan really just said that she looked hot? No, he didn't mean it in that way. Of course not, how silly.

"Yeah I think I should" Although she didn't want to, Rebecca slid her arm away from his side to remove the blazer. Unintentionally, she grazed her hand over Jonathan's bottom and she blushed instantly. This only made her hunger for him grow deeper.

She stepped away from him and wriggled out of the blazer and held it over her arm. She felt the cold air whip her arms and she was glad that she wasn't near Jonathan any longer. The heat disappeared and the cool night air felt good on her face.

"Any better?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah loads. Thanks." She exhaled deeply and carried on walking, without looking at Jonathan once. "C'mon we've only gotta walk another block."

Rebecca didn't realise how fast Jonathan could walk because he was suddenly by her side, making his arm rub against hers.

"Let me have that, Rebecca." He grabbed the blazer from her arm and whipped it over his shoulder, carrying it with one hand.

Why was he doing this? Is he purposely trying to over power her senses? Maybe it's a grand plan to make Rebecca feel this way so he could get rid of her. Or have his way with her and leave her in the gutter. It was plausible. No. Jonathan isn't like that, is he? He wouldn't do that to someone if he didn't love them. Or would he? Rebecca couldn't sum up an answer but the growing assumption of him only wanting casual sex was her main idea. Although, it was an appealing arrangement, she thought.

They came up to an old tattered building which looked as though it was falling apart. There were many floors and windows, most of which were cracked or boarded up.

"Um... Yeah, so... This is, uh, my place." Rebecca stared at the building and waited for Jonathan's laughter or his criticism.

"Oh... So which one's yours?" He looked at all the smashed windows and gulped.

"That one up there. On the top." She pointed to a small balcony which had tiny fairy lights wrapped around the bars and some potted tulips hanging from baskets. "Um, would you like to come in and sit down for a bit?"

"... No, I need to get back to Arkham. But thank you."

"Oh, yeah. Right. Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Mr Crane." She stepped forward and raised a delicate hand out for a hand shake.

Jonathan took her hand and lightly pressed it to his lips. "Goodnight, Rebecca," he murmured into her hand and then he spun round and walked away without another word.


	4. A Visitor

Rebecca stuffed her key into the lock and flung open the 12A door to her apartment. She slammed the door behind her and put her glasses onto a small round table by the door. She shuffled over to the light pink couch and threw herself face first onto it. She felt extremely exhausted after climbing 12 flights of stairs because the elevator had broken again for the third time this month. She rolled over to face the small TV in the corner of the room. Rebecca sat up and grabbed the remote control from the oak coffee table between her and the TV and pressed the 'on' button. She sat there for a moment mindlessly flicking through channels until she found an appealing news channel to disrupt the silence.

She looked at the flower-shaped, purple clock on the wall and gasped because it was 10:15pm. Rebecca didn't realise how long her and Jonathan had been in the coffee shop and now understood why the waitress had been so annoyed with them.

She bit her lip feeling guilty and felt her stomach rumble. Rebecca hadn't had anything to eat since around 5:00pm but she didn't feel hungry since she was so distracted by Jonathan. She walked over to the small kitchen (which was in the same room as the living room) and searched the cupboards for some food. There was nothing but tinned soup and beans. Rebecca puffed loudly, knowing she'd have to break into her university savings to pay for food. She really did want to go to university and get some grades but she had to eat, too.

Rebecca looked at the clock again. It was 10:28pm exactly. She raised an eyebrow. Where was he? He's never late. She shook her head and began pouring a tin of beans into a saucepan. She placed it on the hob and turned it on a low simmer.

Then she heard it. A light scratching on her balcony door. He was here. A smile spread across her face and she ran to the door. She pulled the handle but almost fell because she hadn't opened it yet.

"Sorry! I'll be just a minute!" she rushed over to the kitchen counter and grabbed her spare set of keys out of the top drawer (she had left her purse at the Asylum, including her keys) and hurried to the balcony door.

Rebecca pulled open the door and pointed at him. "You are late, mister!" She laughed and bent down to pick up the small ginger cat circling round her legs. "Honestly, I was thinking the worst of things! I thought you'd gotten lost!" She laughed again and put him down on the kitchen counter where he sat down patiently.

Rebecca reached at the back of the cupboard and pulled out two sachets of cat food.

"We don't have much in tonight, Tom, but I've got beef and chicken. What d'ya fancy?"

Tom touched his nose on the chicken packet and jumped off the counter and walked out to the balcony again.

"Hm, good choice!" She grabbed a small plastic dish from the drying rack, tore open the packet and put the food into the bowl. She quickly checked her beans and placed a piece of bread in the toaster. She walked over to a waiting Tom and placed down the bowl. "I still don't understand why you eat out here, you know. You could eat inside if you wanted to."

"He won't, though." Pierced a sly voice to the left of Rebecca.

Rebecca jumped and looked into the dark trying the find the owner of the voice.

"And who are you?" said Rebecca, calmly, although she felt very frightened.

"Calm down, sweety, I won't hurt you." The figure stalked slowly toward her.

"How do I know that?" stammered Rebecca.

"Because if you didn't trust me, you would've run inside and called your precious doctor by now." The woman sat on the next balcony, letting the light hit her body. She was wearing an entire latex suit with high-heeled boots and a black mask just covering her eyes. "Or you would if you didn't leave your purse at that lunatic place."

"Who are you? And how do you know that-"

"Babe, if you lived in the dark for as long as I have then you kinda become the eyes and ears of this place. I know everything about your little crush on your boss at that nut-job asylum."

"Who are you?" Demanded Rebecca, her voice more firm now.

"Who do you think I am?" Rebecca could see a smirk appear on her face.

"I think you're just a weirdo trying to scare me into believing your rubbish. I don't care how you found all that stuff out! I don't care! I just do not care! Go away!"

"Oh... You're in denial. That's cute, kid, but I gotta tell ya, that doctor of yours, he ain't right for ya and you need to get away from him or you'll get hurt. Most people involved with that man go crazy or end up six feet under, and trust me, darling, you don't want that. You may think he's worth it but he's not. Just think about it, _really_ think about it, you've been working for him, what is it, 8 months? And apart from tonight in that coffee shop, has he shown you any kind of interest? Any at all? No. You know what that means? It means he don't like ya and you're better off getting out of this situation before he breaks your little heart. And heart break is a bitch to get rid of, I know this more than most people."

"How do you know all this? How do you know about the coffee shop? Who are you?"

"Listen, flower, I like you, I really do, and I don't want you getting involved with people like him. He's bad news and I know the bad guys are always more... _fun_, but it always ends with you in the gutter."

Rebecca stared at the woman. Why was she saying these things? Jonathan isn't bad! He's not a bad person... Or is he?

Rebecca jumped when she heard a cry for help by a woman far away.

"That's my queue, kiddo. See ya."

"Wait! Will I ever see you again?" Rebecca ran the edge of the balcony and reached out to her.

The woman pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something, pressed her lips to it then flicked it toward Rebecca. "I guarantee it, honey." She winked at Rebecca just before jumping down the next few floors and free running down into the street before disappearing into an alley.

Rebecca looked down at the up-turned piece of paper. She picked it up, flipped it over and read:

_I think he wants the beef this time_

_- C_

with a big red lipstick print on the lower right corner. She looked down at Tom who was no longer on the balcony, he had walked back into her apartment and sat on the kitchen counter staring at her. He was definitely still hungry.


	5. Some Bad News

Rebecca woke to the sound of her deafening alarm clock beside her bed and she was in a tangle of purple satin covers. It must have been a warm night because Rebecca felt herself stick to the mattress cover from sweat, or that she was still wearing her work clothes from yesterday. She had been so tired that she must have dozed off while watching TV, but she didn't remember getting into bed. She remembered that Tom had stayed for at least an hour for more food but gave up when she told him he only had one packet left and couldn't have it. She also remembered that, whilst talking to that crazy woman, she forgot about her beans and toast and burnt them, meaning Rebecca didn't eat at all last night. Her stomach rumbled very loudly as she thought about food.

She rolled over and switched off her alarm. 7:02am. She didn't need to go to work 'til 9:30am which meant more time for her to get ready.

Slipping her feet into some fluffy brown slippers, she wondered around her tiny kitchen looking for what was available for breakfast. She found two eggs in the refrigerator and there was still a slice of bread left._ Toast and eggs it is_, she thought. She cracked the eggs in the frying pan and put the bread in the toaster. She turned and sighed when she saw a huge pile of dirty plates overflowing the sink. Rebecca never had to deal with the washing up as much because she usually bought take-away but since she had been saving money she actually had to cook for herself instead of splurging on chinese or pizza.

Rebecca grumpily slouched to her bedroom and grabbed a make-up wipe and wiped off all of her mascara from yesterday and rolled her sleeves up. Might as well get it over with, she thought.

It didn't take her long because when she finished the toast had popped up and the eggs were just about done (they took a little longer because Rebecca put them on a low heat).

Putting her plate away, Rebecca was licking all the crumbs off of her fingers. She glanced at the clock. It was 7:39am. She thought she should have a shower and grabbed a soft, white towel from one of her wooden drawers in her bedroom and walked into her small en suite bathroom. The water was cold but it was refreshing and it woke Rebecca up instantly. She leaned under the shower head and let the water soak her hair and drip down her back. Resting her head on the tiled wall, she stood there running through sentences she should say to Jonathan later on. It would be difficult, considering what happened yesterday, especially if he felt as awkward as Rebecca does. 10 minutes had passed during Rebecca's thought process and she hurriedly washed herself.

Stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel tightly around her, Rebecca heard a knock at her door. She looked at her bedside alarm clock - it was 7:56am. It was probably Mrs Tiggs from next door with some mail that was accidentally placed in her mailbox. Rebecca liked Mrs Tiggs, she wasn't an old woman - she looked about 40 but Rebecca had always been too afraid to ask - and she was like a mother to Rebecca. Mrs Tiggs knows all about Rebecca's parents and her situation, it was like she was the only trustworthy person she knew (apart from Jonathan, of course).

"Hold on!" Rebecca yelled to the door.

She quickly looked around for her key, thinking it was still in the balcony door, but it was neatly laid down on the coffee table. Rebecca furrowed her brow, trying to remember how it got there. She moved closer and realised what - or who - had happened when she saw a small piece of paper underneath it. She picked up the key and read the familiar writing:

_What would you do without me, huh?_

_- C_

Rebecca eyed the piece of paper as she backed over to the door.

"Sorry, I was just finding my key! Won't be a tick!" She crammed the key into the lock and swung the door open wide. "Honestly Mrs Tiggs, our mailman is so silly! He-"

Rebecca stood dead. She wasn't speaking to Mrs Tiggs.

"Hello, Rebecca." He said, his eyes widening as he looked at her almost naked body.

"Oh. Hello, Mr Crane." She stared at him and wondered why he looked at her in shock and why now he was looking at the floor. She looked down, too.

"_Oh my god_! I am _so _sorry, Mr Crane! I, uh-" she tried to cover more of herself with the small towel. Her cheeks flamed bright red and she hid her body behind the door, just peeking her head round at him. "Um, do you wanna come and sit down?"

"Uh, yes, okay." He stepped inside, avoiding Rebecca's eyes. "But I'll only be stopping for a few minutes."

"That's fine." Rebecca murmured, still blushing. "Um, the remote for the TV is on the coffee table... I think." She didn't know whether her mysterious 'friend' had moved the remote, too. "I'll just be in here, um, getting... Ready." She closed the door and rushed toward her bedroom door, not wanting Jonathan to see her in a skimpy towel again. Why did she pick this towel? Of all the huge blue, black, red towels she has, she had to go and pick the smallest bloody one!

She slammed her bedroom door closed and fell in a heap on the floor, hugging her legs to her chest.

"Fuck's sake!... What's wrong with you?!... You're so stupid, Rebecca!... Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Rebecca whispered to herself, burying her head into her knees.

A cold breeze drifted in from the open window and danced over Rebecca. She shuddered, the cold air mixing with the steamy water on her skin making her feel frozen. The hairs stood up on her arms and she gripped her knees tight, feeling colder and colder.

"Get dressed, you fool! Don't just sit there! Jonathan's waiting on _your_ couch! Get up! Get up!" She stood up and headed for her white-painted, wooden chest of drawers. She passed her tall mirror and glared at herself through it. She stopped.

The towel was so tightly wrapped around her bust, it looked as though her breasts were about to fall out! She stood with a slight bend to her left leg and her right hip leaned out a little. The hot water was still steaming from her skin and her hair was in damp ringlets, curved around her face slightly and draped down to her lower back.

Rebecca bit her lip, anxiously - as if she was first noticing herself for the first time in years. She touched her cheek, delicately, just to make sure it was real and not just an illusion. She ran her hands down her thin waist, over her curvy hips and turned round to see her bottom poking out just enough.

"Wow" was all she could manage. For the first time in a very long while, Rebecca thought she was... pretty. Not beautiful, not perfect just... pretty.

She giggled at her own silliness. Of course she wasn't pretty! She hadn't had a boyfriend since she was 4-years-old and that was just her best friend, Jacob, who she accidentally called him 'her boyfriend' in pre-school once. The only man who had ever called her pretty was her father but he's supposed to say stuff like that, right?

She looked again at her bust and noticed the intense cleavage going on. She opened her eyes wide in embarrassment and looked away from her reflection. Then she looked back. She studied herself and started to piece something together.

Jonathan... is in her living room.

Jonathan... had... seen her... in this... attire.

She clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a yelp.

"Oh my god!" She quietly squealed. "Oh my god! Oh... my god. Oh my god!" She looked at her reflection again. "Oh my god. Oh... my... effing... god!"

Jonathan... had... seen... her... almost... naked.

She paused. Jonathan had seen her almost naked. She turned and looked at her reflection once more.

A wave of excitement pulsed through her. She felt energetic, she felt hyperactive, she felt... slightly ridiculous. He had seen her in a skimpy towel, so what? He's probably seen a lot more of other women.

Rebecca mentally slapped herself and proceeded to her chest of drawers again. She pulled out a white shirt from the second drawer, a knee-high pencil skirt and tan coloured tights from the third and some pearl earrings and a black head band from the first drawer.

She threw them onto her bed and sat down at her dressing table. She plugged in her hair dryer and began drying the ends as most of the hair had already dried. She brushed through her hair with quick, simple strokes and flicked it back into a high pony-tail.

She got changed, put her earrings in and slotted her head band through her hair. She grabbed her mascara and eye-liner and turned for the door. Rebecca glanced at her alarm clock, reading 8:12am.

"Sorry I took so long, Mr Crane." She stumbled through the door and collapsed onto the couch next to him. "I, uh, I was drying my hair."

"It's fine." His silky voice seeming oddly calm.

"So, um... What brings you to mine?" She asked, awkwardly. She busied herself by applying her make-up.

"Oh, nothing big, I just wanted to tell you that I won't be at work much today. I've got several meetings to go to so I'm afraid you'll need to take over while I'm gone."

"Me?" She stopped putting on her mascara.

"Well, yes. Why?"

"Um, well, it's just, uh... I'm not really, um, qualified or experienced for anything like that."

"Rebecca, you're my PA. You probably know more about my daily schedule than any other worker at Arkham. That's why I'm leaving it all to you." He looked up at her and smiled.

"Oh" She exclaimed. "Well, that's nice. I, uh... Thank you, I guess." She smiled back to him, but she felt uneasy. She carried on applying mascara.

"Pleasure." He replied. "Well, I've got to go. I'll see myself out." He rose from the couch and strode to the door. "I'll see you later, Rebecca."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Mr Crane." She stared at him, open-mouthed, still holding her mascara brush.

He smirked to himself. "You don't need all that, by the way." He motioned towards Rebecca's mascara brush and stepped out the door, leaving Rebecca in silence.

She looked at the thing he pointed at and her face broke into a huge smile. He doesn't think she needs to wear make-up. He thinks she looks nice enough on her own. She giggled at the way he sniggered before leaving. But then her face fell because she has to spend a whole day without him.

"Bummer..." She muttered to herself.


	6. When Dreams Come True

Rebecca stumbled through her apartment door and kicked it shut behind her. She had had a boring day at Arkham without Jonathan being there. She walked past some people in the corridor who were talking about the famous Harleen Quinzel who ran away with the Joker. Rebecca winced at the memory.

What she hated most about the whole 'Harley Quinn' deal was that despite all the cruel wicked ways, the Joker had still managed to find love. Rebecca had never had a real relationship because she was always caught up in her school work to even think about boys. It was only Jonathan that ever made her feel weak at the knees and light-headed.

She smiled, remembering all the sweet little habits he has; the way he ruffles his hair when he's stressed, when he drums his fingers on the desk if he gets bored or when he leans back in his chair to 'rest his eyes' and accidentally drifts into sleep. Rebecca bit her lip, feeling rather embarrassed, but she didn't care. No-one was around to giggle or mock and she was thankful for it.

She checked the clock. It was 9:47pm. Wow, the whole day had flown by. Rebecca's mind kept taking her back to the events that happened this morning. She definitely regretted rushing to get changed so quickly. She wanted to feel the excitement of Jonathan seeing her in that way again. It made her feel like she had _some_ kind of sex appeal.

Rebecca walked over to the couch and rested her head back. She closed her eyes and imagined what she could have done to make this morning better. The ticking clock grew more and more quiet as Rebecca sank deeper and deeper into thought.

An alarm sounded suddenly. Rebecca jumped and raced over into her bedroom to switch it off. It was 7:00am. She rubbed her eyes and stretched.

"Crap." She said, simply. "Jesus Christ!" She threw her arms into the air, questioning her own sleeping pattern.

She walked back into the living room and searched for the remote. Nowhere. She wondered if her 'friend' had paid a visit while she was sleeping. She was dragged away from thought when her front door swung open with a loud bang.

She whipped round and saw a large figure striding toward her.

"Jonathan! What are you doing here?!" She yelled at him.

Jonathan didn't say anything, he just simple looked down at Rebecca's body and then back up to her eyes. Rebecca looked down at herself. She was wearing a small white towel again.

"What the fuck?!" She panicked and looked up at Jonathan.

Jonathan remained silent. He bent down toward Rebecca and brushed his lips against hers gently. Rebecca's heart leaped into her mouth and she grabbed Jonathan's collar, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. He replied with such eagerness, he knocked Rebecca backwards and they both landed on her tiny couch. Rebecca automatically parted her legs and rubbed into Jonathan. He rolled them both round so she was on top. The constricting towel on Rebecca popped open and her teeth immediately sunk into her bottom lip. Jonathan simply smiled and pulled her to him for another wet kiss. He grabbed the small towel from Rebecca's back and threw it on the floor, deepening the kiss further.

Rebecca let out a tiny whimper and roughly grabbed handfuls of his dark locks. Jonathan's smooth palms trickled down the small of her back and lightly ran over her bottom. The sensation tickled Rebecca and her hips jolted forward in an attempt of a reflex. He laughed into her mouth and pushed her bottom downwards, pressing her to him more.

Rebecca broke the kiss. "Jonathan, I need to say something. Something importa-" He had stopped her sentence with another kiss.

"I know what you're about to say." He uttered. "But Rebecca you need to do something for me first..."

"Anything." She breathed.

"Rebecca, you need to wake up."

"What?" She said, bolting up.

"Wake up, kid. Hey! Kid, wake up!" He shouted, but not in his own voice.

Rebecca was pushed off the couch as a familiar voice cried "HEY!"

She looked up to see a woman in a latex suit standing over.

"Sorry!" Rebecca quickly mumbled. "I, uh, must have dozed off."

"No kiddin'! He's been meowing for nearly 20 minutes!" The woman jerked her head toward the kitchen counter.

Rebecca peered over the couch to see a ginger cat happily munching some food out of a yellow, plastic bowl.

"Tom?" She asked aloud, though she was mainly talking to herself. "B-but he never eats inside! Ever! And... that's not his bowl!" Rebecca rubbed her forehead. She wondered if she was going crazy.

"Just get up, will ya? You look like a dick sitting on the floor like that." Sneered the woman.

Rebecca obeyed and stood up. Then she realised who was standing in front of her.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing in my house?" She demanded.

"Honey, you really wanna ask me that when you've just woke up?" The woman smiled slyly.

Rebecca sighed. "I s'pose not... Erm... Do you wanna sit down? Maybe a drink?"

"Sure." She stepped back and landed perfectly in an upright, sitting position on the couch. "Except you ain't got nothing in."

Rebecca nodded and smiled in apology. She stood and leaned awkwardly. "Erm... W- What do I call you? Like, do you have a name?"

"I got many, kid. They call me the 'cat burglar', but I don't do that shit anymore, promise. Some poor bastards call me 'bitch', others say 'that one' and some call me 'cat' for short. Take your pick." She removed a glove and began examining her ruby-painted nails for dirt.

"What's your real name?" Rebecca questioned and slowly sat down next to her.

"Sorry, no can do, missy. Would cause me too much trouble if you went blabbing and, as much as I like ya, I ain't ready to make that kind of commitment yet." She removed the other glove and repeated checking her nails.

"Okay... What about C? 'Cause you always end your 'notes' with a C."

"Sure, kiddo. Sounds great." Her voice was plain and indifferent.

"Okay, C... Why are you here?" Rebecca looked down at her hands, nervously.

"Tom was pissing me off. He kept meowing and, me being me, I had to go check on him just in case he was one of my minions. When I realised it was your place, I had to check if you were okay too. Y'know, in case you died or something." She didn't sound very concerned.

"Oh... Okay. Wait- what do you mean by 'minions'?"

"My babies." She replied, plainly.

"You've got kids?!" Rebecca didn't mean to sound so surprised.

"Jeez, kid, calm yourself. I ain't got no fucking kids. They're all little bastards and I ain't got time for little bastards running around the place cramping my style. No, I mean my cats. Well, I don't really own them, they just come and go as they please and I don't mind." She paused. "It's kinda like... I dunno, say a cat sanctuary."

Rebecca's confused expression subsided into an understanding one.

"So, you kinda look after all the neighborhood cats?"

"Yeah, something like that." said C, lazily. "You got anything to drink?"

"Oh! Um... Probably not... Sorry." She smiled, apologetically.

"Thought so." C leaped up from the couch and glided over to the balcony door.

"Wha- You're going?" Rebecca stood up. She couldn't help but feel a little let down.

"Yep. Can't stay in one place too long when you've got a police record. See you soon, kid."

"Bye, C."

C did a handstand on the balcony and flipped over then disappeared underneath. A low whisper of foot steps was echoing around the street below as she sprinted off.

Rebecca sighed loudly and looked at the clock. It was 10:56pm. She glanced over at Tom who was sitting patiently on the counter. Being suddenly woken up had made Rebecca completely forget about all the questions she had wanted to ask C.

She sighed again. "C'mon, Tom. It's late and I wanna go to bed." She made her way over to the balcony door and opened it wide for him. "Out you go, mister."

Tom jumped down from the counter and rubbed himself against Rebecca's leg but didn't walk out. Instead, he bounced into Rebecca's bedroom.

"Tom! C'mon, I'm tired." She followed him.

Tom was snuggled into one of the pillows on Rebecca's bed. He glared up at her then rested his head on his paw again.

"You wanna stop here?" She furrowed her brow, her mind racing. "What the heck is going on? First C let's herself in while I'm sleeping, then you're eating inside out of a different bowl and now you want to stop the night? Okay, she's seriously done something to you." She pointed a threatening finger at him. He was fast asleep. "Fine! You can stay." She tried to look mad at him but a smile spread across her face and she laughed at how stupid she was being. "Jesus Christ" she giggled to herself.

She went to the balcony door and locked it. She placed down some newspaper and returned to her bedroom. She took off her clothes and just threw on an old shirt for bed - it was too warm to wear proper pajamas. She lay down on the side of the bed Tom wasn't sleeping and closed her eyes. The slight purring of Tom next to her was soothing and she went straight to sleep.


End file.
